Evidence for functional interactions between the placenta and brain in pregnant mice

What is it about?

Though it is known that intrauterine environment can impact fetal brain development, its molecular mechanism remains unknown. A key objective of this study is to understand gene crosstalk of placenta with the maternal/fetal brain, and to determine if the crosstalk is influenced by the uterine condition. We applied system biology approaches in analyzing high throughput gene expression data to study how genes interact at transcriptional level among placenta, fetal brain and maternal brain. Another specific goal of this study is to determine how uterine deficiency of forkhead box a2 (Foxa2), a key transcription factor for uterine gland function during pregnancy establishment, influences gene expression of the placenta and fetal brain. Our findings reveal that a network of communication exists between the placenta and the maternal/ fetal brain, and that uterine glands and, by inference, their secretions or products impact placenta transcriptome. The study paves new avenues for determining the cellular and molecular basis of normal and adaptive interactions among the brain, uterus, and placenta during pregnancy.

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